


shaky promises

by very_vary



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Matt's fighting in the ring y'all lots of description of blood and stuff, Shatt, Shatt Week 2018, Shiro makes promises he won't keep, day 3 - prisoners, shatt week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-14 18:31:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14142006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/very_vary/pseuds/very_vary
Summary: in the ring, it's hard to make do with what you have, but shiro and matt try their best.





	shaky promises

**Author's Note:**

> this is my day 3 entry for shatt week 2018! i went with prisoners. still behind. unfortunately i'm in a rough spot so i don't know if i'll be able to complete the week but i'll do the highlights. as usual, hope you enjoy!
> 
> and remember voltron is set in the future so yes i can call star wars 'vintage' fight me m8

Matt refused to die up here. He refused to leave his family, his sister, in the dark back home, never able to see him again. He refused to let his father slip through his fingers. He refused to leave Shiro alone in this system.

So when the Galra told him to kill for their entertainment, he did it. He held a sword in trembling hands above another prisoner, who cowered beneath him, begging him to make it end quickly. Though he wasn’t the strongest fighter by far in their ranks, the Galra refused to let him off the hook. They pitted the weaker prisoners against each other, forcing them to pick each other off one by one until the strongest of the weak remained. They both knew he didn’t have a choice. He had a family, he had Shiro. This alien had put up a fight, at least. He had learned their culture believed dying in battle was the most honorable way to go, and he was glad he could at least deliver on that front. He died fighting, and he’d gotten a solid cut in on Matt’s upper arm. It was another scar to match those he’d killed. He had too many for him to think about it without breaking down. That seemed to be a common theme in the ring: don’t think. Just do. 

So he told himself not to think as he shoved his sword downwards, closing his eyes at the spray of alien blood that splattered over his prisoner’s rags and his hands. The crowd roared, and, as usual, he felt sick to his stomach. The first couple times he had to fight, he did vomit. But today, he stood tall but shaky, pale as a ghost as the crowd cheered for him. He had his moment of so-called glory before the guards marched back in , grabbing him by the arms and dragging him out of the ring. He’d stopped struggling a long time ago, just letting them take him back to their cell. There was no point in fighting it — it only got him or Shiro hurt in the long run. 

He let them lead him down hallways he’d memorized, the roar of the ring fading behind him as they lead him through the maze of cells upon cells upon cells. He wondered how many of them they’d enslaved, and how many more of them died here. They rounded a corner to his cell block, the sentries escorting him holding his arms so tightly it was sure to leave bruises. They unlocked the cell door and it slid open, spilling bright light into the dim room. They shoved him in and the door slammed shut behind him, leaving him staggering and exhausted. He nearly collapsed, but just as his knees gave out, Shiro was there, his arms around his waist and holding him up. “I’m here.” He murmured, supporting him as he trembled. Matt managed to stand up on his own after a moment, his hands shaking. They were still covered in blood, dyed a deep red. Just looking down at them made him nauseous again. He couldn’t seem to come up with words, and Shiro didn’t make him. Matt always shut down after fighting, almost like his mind was trying to protect him from the reality of the situation. He wasn’t meant for this. “Blood,” he managed to get out after a few moments, and thankfully, Shiro knew what he meant, taking his hands and wiping the blood off on his shirt. He seemed to relax a little more once the blood was literally off his hands, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to speak much for a while. 

By now, Shiro also knew this, and was used to it. They’d learned each other’s tendencies by now. Shiro got antsy after fights, panicky and pacing, if he was lucky enough to be sent straight back to the cell. Usually, his next stop was the witch or her doctors, where they did god-knows-what to him and then left him, half dead and his voice broken from screaming. When that happened, Matt just laid down with him, holding him close and murmuring quiet comforts to him. It was all he could do to lie and say that everything was going to be okay, that soon, they’d make it out of there and they’d be able to go home. He ran his hands through his hair, which was starting to go grey-white at the roots, and let him rest, promising him he’d protect him and luring him to sleep despite both of them knowing that there was nothing either of them could do. It was routine by now. 

They fell back into that routine, Shiro leading him to the back corner of the cell and pulling him into his lap. He wrapped one arm around him to hold him close and ran the other hand through his hair, working out the tangles. And then he started talking, trying to give Matt something to latch onto, so his mind would be released from what seemed like an endless loop of killing and pain. “I was thinking about home today,” Shiro murmured as Matt buried his face in his chest. “Do you remember when we would sneak out at night to go to the lookout point outside of town?” He asked quietly. “I remembered the night we only barely made it because Professor Dos Santos caught you stealing popcorn from the faculty lounge.” Matt had been determined to get them snacks for their lookout date, and his dumb ass had tried to make popcorn. A professor heard them, and they booked it off Garrison grounds, laughing and holding hands as Matt spilled his half-done popcorn everywhere. They were in so much trouble when they got back, but it was so worth it. They got to watch a meteor shower together on the hood of Shiro’s red convertible, and even with the looming threat of more detentions than they could count over their head, it was a break they really needed. He smiled into his shirt, his wavering breaths starting to even out. 

“Remember the night you kissed me for the first time?” Shiro asked, his tone less joking and more genuinely nostalgic. “We were sitting together almost like this, and you were showing me old vintage space movies and rambling about how one character was useless. Who was it?” He gently prodded. It took a few moments, but words finally came to him. “Jar Jar Binks.” He managed to mumble, and Shiro smiled weakly, giving him a kiss on the top of the head as a reward for working towards speaking again. “You were talking about how useless Jar Jar Binks was. You’d paused the movie to rant about it, and then suddenly you went quiet as you made eye contact with me. And you just blurted out ‘I think I’m in love with you.’” His hand paused in Matt’s hair. “You didn’t even really realize that’s not something people said. You just had the realization and you said it, because you always said things that came to mind. You didn’t have a filter. And I said something stupid—“ Matt chuckled weakly. “You thanked me.” He murmured, muffled by his shirt. “God, yeah, I thanked you. And you just leaned up and kissed me like that was endearing. And I just had this feeling that I was in it for the long haul. I knew we were going to be together for a while.”

Matt seemed to be calming down, his mind dragged out of the slicing of flesh, warm blood, and the roar of the crowd. They’d done this enough times that Shiro knew what he was doing. However, he took a risk to make a point. He pulled Matt’s mind out of the past. “I know we’re in a horrible place.” His hand went back to gently carding through his hair. “But we’re still together, and we’re staying together. I won’t leave you here.” He said, determined and somewhat... nervous? Matt couldn’t tell. “We’re gonna get out of this together, and we’re gonna get your father, too. I’ll protect you.” Matt nodded. 

“So when we get back to Earth, will you marry me?” He asked. There was no room for formality. There was no happy jumping and shrieking or any beautiful ring. Matt did nothing but pause. But if they were going to make it out of here, they sure as hell were going to take advantage of the chance to live they were given. “Course.” Matt murmured. “I’d marry you here if I could.” 

Shiro let out a quiet breath. “Good.” He flattened his hair out and pressed another kiss to the top of his head. “Don’t give up on me. We can get out of here together. We’ll be home soon.” 

“You promise?” Matt asked, knowing full well he sounded like a scared child. Sometimes, that was the best thing he could do around here.

“I promise.”


End file.
